Jill Kelley and her twin sister Natalie Khawam 'were intent on landing a rich man and had their eyes on the Steinbrenners'

Jill Kelley, the Tampa socialite who became embroiled in the David Petraeus cheating scandal last year, and her twin sister were always intent on landing themselves rich men, a relative has revealed.

The sisters, who were born to Lebanese immigrants and gained reputations as shrewd socialites, even had their eyes on New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and his brother Hank, he added.

Kelley and Natalie Khawam were thrust into the spotlight last November when CIA boss David Petraeus, 60, was found to have had an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, 40.

It emerged that their affair was exposed when Broadwell, who threw parties for military staff in Tampa, sent Kelley threatening emails, warning her to 'back off' Petraeus. Kelley alerted the FBI.

Socialites: Jill Kelley, left, and her twin sister Natalie Khawam, right, hit headlines in November after David Petraeus' mistress sent threatening emails to Kelley, exposing the affair and leading to his resignation

Throughout the scandal, the sisters were portrayed as determined social climbers who elbowed their way into official events and counted the military's top brass and city officials among their friends.

And now their cousin, Tony Khawam, has revealed the extent of their determination, saying they always aimed to snag rich men.

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'They made up their minds they were going
to use men to get money, and they discussed this quite openly in front
of the family,' Khawam told Town & Country magazine.

He added that the sisters, who witnessed their parents struggling financially as they grew up in Pennsylvania, even expressed interest in the Steinbrenners.

'Desired': The sisters reportedly took trips on a plane owned by Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, left, and his brother Hank, right, and said they would split up Hal and his wife so the plane could be theirs

'They’d take trips on the Steinbrenners'
plane and brag about how they would split Hal up from his then-wife,
Christina [Lavery], and then the plane would be theirs,' he said.

Kelley had met the Steinbrenners as their children attended the same pre-school. At this time, Kelley was married, while Khawam was divorced from the father of her son.

It became so extreme in his opinion, that he warned the Steinbrenners' security team.

Other Tampa residents have also detailed the women's desire to rise to the top by throwing lavish parties at their mansion - unaware Kelley and her surgeon husband, Scott, were swamped in debts.

Party guests named the sisters 'the Chanel twins' thanks to a large portrait in the home showing the women wearing matching designer suits, Town & Country reported.

Ambitious: Khawam, left, and Kelley, right, are pictured in their year book pictures in Pennsylvania

Close friends: Kelley (second right) and Khawam (left) are pictured with David Petraeus, his wife Holly and Kelley's surgeon husband Scott at one of their lavish house parties before the scandal

'They targeted the rich and powerful here
very clinically,' one said, explaining that she 'dropped them, like we all did, because they behaved so badly. If they
thought someone was no one they just ignored them.'

Sandy Freedman, the former mayor, added:
'This town has become too porous. That a bimbo like Jill Kelley should
be given any kind of recognition or access to the military - it's
outrageous. Tampa needs to be more careful about vetting people. It
cannot go on like before.'

A former boyfriend of Natalie, Lew Blum, agreed that the family was 'just mean' and took about $100,000 of his money for trips, down payments and hotel rooms.

The twin sisters and their relationships with military staff were scrutinised in the wake of the scandal.

Boast: Kelley had a plate on her car reading 'Honorary Consul' for South Korea for her work with the military

Grand: Kelley and her husband's home in Tampa, Florida. Khawam lives in a smaller apartment in the back

Affair: David Petraeus resigned after his affair with biographer Paula Broadwell was discovered. She had sent threatening emails to Kelley warning her to 'back off' the then CIA chief

It was claimed that Kelley exchanged around 30,000 emails with head of troops in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, who was investigated for the 'racy' messages.

Last month, he was cleared of the military misconduct allegations.

Kelley had acted as a volunteer civilian liaison for officers at nearby MacDill Air Force Base.

Allen and Petraeus met Kelley when they were stationed at the base while serving as the commanders of U.S. Central Command between 2008 and 2011.